Identification of the Aquifer Parameters from Pumping Test Data by Using a Hybrid Optimization Approach

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to propose a linked simulation-optimization approach to determine the parameters of the confined and leaky-confined aquifers from the results of the pumping tests. In the simulation part of the proposed approach, the drawdowns at the given monitoring points and times are calculated by considering Theis and Hantush approaches for confined and leaky-confined aquifers, respectively. This simulation part is then integrated with a hybrid optimization approach where global exploration feature of the harmony search (HS) and strong local search capability of the generalized reduced gradient (GRG) approach of the spreadsheet Solver add-in are mutually integrated. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated by considering two pumping test data for the confined and leaky-confined aquifers. Identified results indicated that the hybrid HS-Solver optimization approach provides better results than those obtained by using both curve matching and stand-alone HS approaches.